Urinary incontinence refers to when the involuntary loss of urine occurs frequently. It is one of the most frequent health problems among the elderly and, although it can sometimes be a symptom associated with another disorder, it is usually a disease. It should be noted that there are several types of this health problem, which are differentiated according to four criteria: if it arises urgently, as a result of an effort on the abdomen, a mixture of both, or if it is that the elderly person is unable to perceive this need.
In any case, urinary incontinence must be studied by medical personnel to try to find out what kind it is and, above all, what its possible cause is. Especially if you suspect that it could be a symptom of something else. This will establish an appropriate treatment for each case.
Identifying urinary incontinence is not a complicated task, since all cases, although with certain differences among themselves, present a series of common features. The main warning sign has to do when urine losses happen suddenly and uncontrollably. This means that older people who suffer from it do not have time to maneuver. For example, they don't make it to the bathroom on time before it happens.
It is also possible that they suffer leaks while carrying out normal or day-to-day activities. Such as bending down to pick something up, practicing some type of physical activity, or performing movements as simple as coughing or sneezing. It is also something that could happen to them when they are sleeping, during the night. Each of these symptoms has different explanations.
A case of urinary incontinence can be treated, as already mentioned, as a disease in itself or as a symptom that alerts to the presence of another disorder. The causes behind it are very varied and can be due to various conditions. One of the reasons is obstruction disorders or problems within the urinary system. Including conditions in the prostate, such as an infection or BPH. But bladder cancer cannot be ruled out either.
Among the reasons that explain urinary incontinence are neurological or cerebral causes, as well as neuromuscular disorders or neurodegenerative diseases. Cases of dementia, or involving cognitive impairment, could prevent the person from recognizing the need to urinate.
Drugs may be another viable explanation. Certain treatments, based on diuretics or antidepressants, are capable of causing cases of this urinary incontinence as a side effect.
